Warrgamay language
Australian Aboriginal language
title: "Warrgamay language" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["dyirbalic-languages", "extinct-languages-of-queensland"] description: "Australian Aboriginal language" topic_path: "linguistics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrgamay_language" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Australian Aboriginal language ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox language"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Warrgamay |
| nativename | Biyay |
| states | Australia |
| region | Northeast Queensland |
| ethnicity | Warakamai, Biyaygiri |
| speakers | 3 |
| date | 1981 |
| familycolor | Australian |
| fam1 | Pama–Nyungan |
| fam2 | Dyirbalic |
| dia1 | Warrgamay |
| dia2 | Biyay (Biyaygiri) 1 |
| dia3 | Biyay 2 |
| iso3 | wgy |
| glotto | warr1255 |
| glottorefname | Warrgamay |
| aiatsis | Y134 |
| :: |
|name=Warrgamay |nativename=Biyay |states=Australia |region=Northeast Queensland |ethnicity=Warakamai, Biyaygiri |speakers=3 |date=1981 |familycolor=Australian |fam1=Pama–Nyungan |fam2=Dyirbalic |dia1=Warrgamay |dia2=Biyay (Biyaygiri) 1 |dia3=Biyay 2 |iso3=wgy |glotto=warr1255 |glottorefname=Warrgamay |aiatsis=Y134
Warrgamay is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language of northeast Queensland. It was closely related to Dyirbal.
It is also known as Waragamai, Wargamay, Wargamaygan, Biyay, and Warakamai. The language region includes the Herbert River area, Ingham, Hawkins Creek, Long Pocket, Herbert Vale, Niagara Vale, Yamanic Creek, Herbert Gorge, Cardwell, Hinchinbrook Island and the adjacent mainland.
Phonology
Consonants
::data[format=table]
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | Labial | Velar | Palatal | Alveolar | Retroflex | Plosive | Nasal | Rhotic | Lateral | Approximant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| b | ɡ | ɟ | d | |||||||||
| m | ŋ | ɲ | n | |||||||||
| r | ||||||||||||
| l | ||||||||||||
| w | j | ɻ | ||||||||||
| :: |
- Rhotic sounds , can also be heard as taps , .
Vowels
::data[format=table]
| Front | Central | Back | Close | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i iː | u uː | |||
| a aː | ||||
| :: |
References
Sources
References
- Dixon, R. M. W.. (2002). "Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development". Cambridge University Press.
- "Warrgamay".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::